Swaziland Breast and Cervical Cancer Network

Swaziland Breast & Cervical Cancer Network (SBCCN) will receive $502,096 over three years to expand national services for breast and cervical cancer in collaboration with Swaziland Baylor-Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Centre of Excellence and the Ministry of Health of Swaziland.

Need

Cervical cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in Swaziland and the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women ages 15-44. Every year, an estimated 223 women in the country are diagnosed with the disease and 118 die from it. Through prior funding from the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation’s SECURE THE FUTURE initiative, SBCCN made history in 2013 with the launch of cervical cancer screening services in the rural community of Ngculwini.

Project

SBCCN, in partnership with the Ministry of Health of Swaziland and Swaziland’s Baylor-Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Clinical Centre of Excellence, is developing a national cervical cancer awareness and clinical program. As the scope of activities increases, SBCCN will coordinate with a large number of stakeholders and sites and will need to hire staff to ensure the organization can meet the complex needs of significant programs.

SBCCN has identified the need for HIV/oncology training and resources from international organizations that already provide and teach breast and cervical cancer screening and treatment techniques, such as those provided through Right to Care at Helen Joseph Hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa, and Swaziland’s Baylor-Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Clinical Centre of Excellence. This national initiative will help establish guidelines for breast cancer that reflect international standards for best practices, and expand breast and cervical cancer screening and clinical services in Swaziland.

The initiative will also ensure that Swaziland has a national See-and-Treat program for cervical cancer and screening and referral to care services for breast cancer.